CP3. Stratford St. Mary

Stratford St. Mary – Near The Black Horse (CO7 6JS)

Finish

Brantham Leisure Centre (CO11 1RZ)

Maps

A GPX for the route can be found here, whilst a digital map of the entire Stour Valley Path can be found here. You may need to simplify the GPX route if you have problems uploading it to your device, although you shouldn’t experience any issues with newer devices.

If you prefer to use paper based maps, the entire Stour Valley Path is shown on the following Ordnance Survey map series:

OS Landranger: 154, 155, 168, 169

OS Explorer: 184, 195, 196, 197, 210, 226

Laminated maps can also be purchased through the Dedham Vale & Stour Valley Project here. A pdf of the route can also be downloaded from the same location.

Finally, the route can be downloaded for the free mobile phone app called ViewRanger here. This is an excellent navigation tool if your mobile phone has good battery life. You can cache the maps before the race and turn your data off during the run to preserve battery life.

Checkpoints table

CP

Distance

Fastest Runner

Cut-off time from start

1

~11mi

~1hr20

4hrs 35mins

2

~18mi

~2hrs20

7hrs 00mins

3

~26mi

~3hrs20

8hrs 15mins

Finish

31mi

~4hrs

9hrs 30mins

There will be no flexibility on these cut-off times. If you enter the checkpoint, or are still at the checkpoint when the cut-off time is implemented, you will not be allowed to proceed. Note that the cut-offs have been calculated based upon previous finishing times, and take into account distance, elevation and other environmental factors.

Hazards

There are a number of hazards that you will encounter during the run. In particular, we would like to make you aware of the following:

Railways

There is a rail crossing on the run just after the village of Lamarsh. The location of this crossing is shown in the images below. Please ensure that you stop before this crossing and check to your left and right before crossing the tracks.

Roads

There are also a number of relatively busy road crossings on the run. Please make sure that you stop, look and listen before crossing these roads.

Rain

There are also a number of other potential hazards on the route. For example, there are a number of stiles that you will need to climb over. Furthermore, some parts of the route may become slippery following heavy rain, particularly where there are exposed roots or where the path runs alongside fields.